90% of women feel pressure to be thin

THE pressure on Australian women to be thin, look young and "be glamorous" is hurting their mental and physical health, a survey released today has revealed.

The survey of more than 1000 Australian women, from Liptember, a group of organisations including LifeLine, found that more than 90% of women respondents felt expectations to be thin and look young were too high.

About 78% of new mums also said they felt pressured to "look fabulous" within weeks of giving birth.

Some 53% of women said the pressure came from other people, while 43% said women were too hard on themselves.

Despite 88% saying they worried about their emotional wellbeing, only a third had talked to a health professional about it.

The main causes of stress in women were found to be financial commitments (at 62%), relationships with family (60%), problems at work (53%) and relationship break-ups (48%).

The survey and report were completed as part of the Liptember campaign, which aimed to create awareness about women's mental health issues each year in September.